GordonGordon

Stayed at both HI hotels couple of times in the past and stayed again both in late January.

I spent only 1 night HI Phuket before heading to HI Phi Phi the next morning for 5 more nights. HI Phuket probably is the best HI in the world, it is better than a lot of 5* resorts worldwide. Booked the cheapest room and got upgraded to a studio at Busakorn wing (quieter section) overlooked the HUGE Busakorn pool. The room is very well-maintained with Thai decor. Fruit plate was sent to my room half an hour after check in. The only drawback is the bathroom; it has no bathtub, and the shower cubical (with rainfall shower head) is separated from the toilet cubical. I prefer the deluxe room with contemporary style at the Main Wing that I stayed couple years ago with stand-alone bathtub & dual sinks in the large bathroom. The other minor issue is the tile floor in the room, it makes the room look cheap. I do prefer the wooden floor at the main wing. The pools are huge, especially the one at Busakorn wing. The HI Phuket has its own websites with more detail info & images:

http://www.phuket.holiday-inn.com/index.htm

http://www.holiday.phuket.com/index.htm

For HI Phi Phi, they had just finished installing plasma TV & DVD player in every single room/bungalow few days before we arrived, so I could watch Australian open tennis tournaments live! Free DVD rental is available at the front desk; they have a good list of movies. They also started to install wireless internet in the room, but it was still at the testing stage. I tried the wireless in the room, but it worked well in the room for only 1 day and didn’t work the rest of my stay, so I had to go to the reception/pool/bar area for wireless internet access. I didn’t complain about it since when I tried to buy the internet voucher at the front desk, the staff already informed/warned me that the wireless might not function well in the room as it was newly installed and was still at the testing stage. The wireless was pretty fast, faster than what I expected. It cost me 450 Thai Baht (VAT & service charge included) for 24 hours internet, and could save the usage time after I logged out.

I booked the cheapest Garden Bungalow and was upgraded to the stand-alone re-built Superior Bungalow that was not far from the beach with partial ocean view. Fruit plate was sent to my room on the 1st day (no refill), and 2 free bottle of water was given everyday and was placed in the mini fridge during our stay. Flower decoration was delicately arranged on the King bed with a word "Welcome".

Now the hotel has 2 pools, the old pool near the reception/bar area and the infinity pool at new wing. I took a brief look at the new wing, it is on the far end of the resort, so it is much quieter. The new oceanfront bungalows at the new wing are all attached to each others sharing the walls. For the studio buildings, there are 2 units on each floor with total 2 floors / 4 units in each building. The studios are all overlook the infinity pool & the beach & ocean behind. It seems they are still building more and more studios behind the existing ones.

Sunset Bar used to serve BBQ stuff with satay sauce, but they are no longer serving that anymore. They give a small dish for fried peanut for free when you order drinks.

The powder-sand beach right in front of the hotel is still very clean & beautiful, and there are plenty of sun-chairs, so you do not have to worry that they will be all gone after your breakfast. The house reef is still very amazing with full of different kind of corals & marine life, but you have to fin quite far to reach the drop-off during high tide.

The costs of the incidental charges
The land transfer (private car) from Phuket airport or any Phuket hotels to Phuket ferry dock + public ferry to HI Phi Phi: THB1,650/person/way (10% service charge & 7% VAT included).
Breakfast: Buffet THB475 +10% service charge & 7%VAT/person (juice & coffee/tea included).
Dinner: Buffet THB650 +10% service charge & 7%VAT/person (beverages not included).
Lunch at restaurants & beverages at sunset Bar: Cocktail THB175+17% VAT & service charge, soft drink THB65+17%, non-alcoholic cocktail THB100+17%. Lunch dishes around THB250+17% for pasta & THB240+17% for pizza (big enough for 2 persons to share)
Diving: THB3,600+7%VAT (no service charge) for 2 dives, and THB1,300+7%VAT (no service charge) for non-diver; I brought my wife on the boat, she could snorkel while I was diving.
***Fins & mask are free of charge. BCD, wet suit, regulator & diving watch cost extra, but I don't remember exactly how much since I bought my own.

Excursion
Long-tail boat rental for sightseeing is a must! Around THB2,000 for 6 hrs & THB1,600 for 4 hrs (VAT & service charge included), 2 hrs rental is available but forget how much it cost. You need to bring cash THB200/person with you for national park entry fee when you enter Bamboo island and/or Maya Bay where the movie "The Beach" was filmed in 1999. I suggest you to order lunch box at the activity desk in the morning before breakfast. They will put your lunch in the portable icebox and send it directly to your reserved longtail boat. Try to avoid having lunch or picnic at Maya Beach in the noon time since it is most crowded & noisy during the day. All visitors tend to have their picnic there and it’s difficult to find a nice spot to rest. Try to get to Maya Beach either early in the morning or late afternoon and try to have picnic somewhere else quiet.

Tips
Try to re-confirm the land/ferry transfer with HI Phi Phi by email 1 or 2 days before your arrival, or directly phone to the hotel the day before you arrive since they forgot to pick me up from HI Phuket for the 8:30am ferry that departed from Phuket to Phi Phi island, so I wasted 2 1/2 hrs for the 2nd ferry that departed from Phuket to Phi Phi at 11am. I waited at the HI Phuket lobby since 7am; they were supposed to pick me up at 7:15am. At 7:45am I asked the staff at HI Phuket to phone HI Phi Phi to find out what happened and why they forgot to pick me up. The G.M. at HI Phi Phi sounded very apologetic when the HI Phuket staff passed me the phone to talk to him directly, but the manager didn't offer me anything for compensation. I insisted I needed some compensation as I was very upset; he reluctantly offered me free dinner for 2 person. I asked for further room upgrade as well, and got the newly re-built individual superior bungalow (not beachfront bungalow though). There are only 2 re-built individual bungalows in the old wing. The HI PP GM asked the staff at HI Phuket to re-check me in back to the same room, so I didn't have to wait at the lobby for another 2 hours.

Bring mosquito spray with you; I got mosquito bites during dinner at the main restaurant & the front desk area while I was surfing internet.

The local restaurants (Jasmin & Gypsy village), local convenience store, dive center & longtail boat rental is right next to the hotel. They all DO NOT belong to the hotel; they are run by the local. I didn't dare to use their service since peace of mind is more important to me than saving small amount of money during the trip. I felt more secure to book everything from the hotel. The hotel has its own dive center, dive boat & longtail boat rental counter at the activity desk. I only dined once at Jasmin and didn't bother to dine there again though the food is cheaper than the hotel restaurant. The open kitchen at both restaurants do not look very hygiene to me, and the surrounding area doesn't look appealing at all (with garbage, smell, street dogs & cats & cigarette buds everywhere).

Here are the links for the HI Phi Phi own websites:

http://www.phiphi.holidayinn.com/

http://www.krabi-hotels.com/holidayinnpp/facilities.htm

I still have the internet voucher valid until 2 March with about 21 hours left. If anyone is planning to stay there before 2 March, I’m more than happy to give out the username and password for free. Please feel free to PM me if you need it.

TheBeerHunter

How was the diving on Phi Phi?

GordonGordon

It had nothing to rave about, but we were not disappointed neither. We went to the smaller Phi Phi Island called Phi Phi Leh or Phi Phi Ley for diving. One of the dive sites is supposed to be famous for Leopard shark sighting, but we didn't see any, instead we saw 2 giant sea turtles, that made up our trip. I think the dive sites at Similan Islands are much better. Sadly we saw couple of crown-of-thorns starfishes in bright purple color at couple of diving and snorkeling spots at Phi Phi Islands; they do eat the corals alive! I noticed quite a lot of table corals were bleached, but other kind of corals were not yet affected. Well, I'm not quite sure if it has anything to do with the crown-of-thorns starfish or water temperature.

I think the best snorkeling spot is still the house reef right in front of the hotel (on the right hand side when you face the ocean) It has various species of coral that I have never seen in any other diving/snorkeling places. If I visit Phi Phi again, I don't think I will go diving again.

leishmaniac

We just came back from an anniversary trip where we stayed at HI PP.

Agreed with most of above, with additional comments:
1. Our arrival transfer: Taxi PHK to Phuket Town (we overnighted there) for 400 Baht. Taxi Phuket Town to Rassada Pier next morning for 100 Baht. Rassada Pier to Holiday Inn on Andaman Wavemaster for 1000 Baht roundtrip/person.
2. We were upgraded to a 3rd level “Condo” that was quite far from the reception, which we had no problems with and in fact enjoyed the walk. There was an amazing view of the ocean with very little obstruction. We were also directly above their infinity pool, which was nice, and of course, just a few meters away was the sea. Only problem was some flying insects that were burrowing into the wood on the balcony, which precluded our use of the balcony, as the insects persisted despite multiple sprayings (staff very responsive to need for spraying, but only solved the problem for a couple of hours).
3. In-room Wifi still not available, but thanks to generosity of GG's code I was able to use the internet near reception. (if anyone is going in the next few days, email me for the code)
4. They appeared to have run out of sun chairs along the beach during the morning. Lots of people saving them with towels/books.
5. Dinner buffet was not worth the money, as IMHO food was of poor quality. The HI outdoor grill, or next door at Jasmin’s, had better food at lower prices.
6. We walked to Tonsai where we got massages for 200 Baht/hr and more diverse restaurants. The trip took about 1.5-2 hours one-way, including hiking up several viewpoints as we took different routes there and back.

Overall: Definitely a great value at 15,000 points. Great location and service, though pricey compared to other places on the island.

Wallease

Hi, I am looking at a possible trip to Phi Phi Island and would like to stay at Holiday Inn Phi Phi Island resort or other resort if fellow FTers have recommendation.

-Is there any tour, or boat service from the hotel to Phi Phi Le (Maya Bay)?How about life jacket and snorkeling equipment? Is there any tour you can recommend?

-Our flight will arrive Phuket airport at 11:20, is this enough time for us to catch the ferry from Phuket? How does the ferry and land transfer work? I think the hotel offer it for $1500 BHT per person, is this a service I reserve from the hotel, or check with the ferry provider in Rassada Pier?

-How long does it take to walk to Tonsai? And what is the cost to go back to the hotel if we decide to use the long boat?

Thanks.

bariummeal

I have stayed a couple of times at HI Phi Phi - in 2008 and 2012. 2008 it was very quiet - it is busier now with last summer with the majority of the people staying during our visit being mainland chinese. This has meant the beach has more restaurants than in 2008, but of course it also means more stupid tourist attractions that the Chinese like - bad Thai dancing / singing 'shows' during meals and etc that resonates across the whole beach - oh well, it is busier now. I hope it doesnt become like Tonsai Bay!

You can use the boats from the hotel - but cheaper to go to any of the fishermen beside the Jasmine restaurant and get one directly. They have equipment on their boat - check with them before you go out. You can get for free (but only for use round the hotel from the hotel - or hire for taking out.....unless you pull a sneaky one....)

Email phiphi HI and they will arrange - it is the easiest.

You cannot walk to Tonsai. THis is the main attraction of HI Phi Phi - it is nowhere near the backpacker hellhole of Tonsai - a littlered beach full of foriegners staying in �10 a night hostels and tatty tourist shops. You hire a fisherman to take you there by boat (about 40mins) and back for about �10. There is a cash mashine in TOnsai and fun for an evening of boozing with music.

Jasmine is a great place to eat - the owner (Thai lady) is very friendly and has good advice - a Scottish guy married to the owner is usually there too. Food far better than the hotel - and very cheap in comparasin - but it is a beach hut style.

Cheapest booze and snacks - go into the Gypsy village - it is like a tiny African township and there is a shack at the top (ten yards or so in) which is a store owned by one of the fisherman's father. Wear shoes!

Anyhow - a great place at a great price. I love going there to relax. Have a good trip.

Scandinavian123

I would absolutely recommend HI Phi Phi! I stayed there in january about a year ago, and it was so quiet and peaceful compared to the earlier said hellhole Tonsai. I stayed during chinese new years so there was a lot of main land chinese there, but i only consider this as an advantage since they dont go to the beach so we pretty much had the beach to our self.

and drinks at the sunset bar is a must (that during sunset, of course)